When I Ruled the World
by Fabled-theWolf
Summary: Arthur loses all of his memories of before the American Revolution and must go to France for help before he fades completely. Together they rediscover their entertwining paths in hope of making a future for one another. FrUk. may go to M later
1. Prolouge

There's a reason countries seem to remain young forever- they do not forget their past. As soon as a country forgets, they lose some of their youthfulness. England was relatively old and had been around for quite some time now. Yet he maintained his youth beautifully. At least usually under regular circumstances. Arthur loved his history, his past. But he had one regret that consumed him. That regret, that pain, was losing America. After blocking it all out, Arthur could no longer remember anything before the American Revolution because that was all that had mattered to him. His memories of raising Alfred were even a bit fuzzy.

Lately, Arthur was looking a little shabby. Grey hairs were appearing in his thick blond hair and wrinkles were threatening to appear on his once young, pretty face. Needless to say, England was quite concerned. The offhand comments from the others at world meetings were no indicator of good things for Arthur's appearance either. But England was suffering more than physical deterioration- he was becoming more and more tired each day.

He paced madly, trying to remember as much as he could. All he knew was the American Revolution, the wars he fought along side America and the pain when said America betrayed him. Hadn't somebody else betrayed him too? The memory was the faintest flicker. Was this person another lover, or perhaps a beloved family member? Then the already faint memory faded completely. Arthur needed help. Who on this whole wide Earth could help him? Who would know England's history better than anyone else, England himself included? Francis.

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"Francis, please! I need your help!" The Frenchman looked up from his book to face the distressed Brit.

"Arthur, you came all the way to France to ask for my help? I'm flattered _Angleterre_! What is it you require? Anything for you, _mon amour_." France blushed slightly before kneeling to place a gentle kiss on Arthur's hand. Arthur stared at him, puzzled by these odd words and actions.

"Angle...tear?" He stumbled over the word. "Is that French?"

"_Oui, mon cher. _I speak French with you all the time. You were always my sweet, French speaking _Angleterre_. How can you not remember?" Francis looked deeply disturbed. Arthur bit his lip, thoughts racing. Was he supposed to know French? _Mon cher, Angleterre, je t'aime_... They all sounded familiar yet they were now foreign words with little meaning. How much had Arthur really forgotten? A sudden wave of fear passed through the British nation.

"That's the thing France- I can't remember any of it."

"French? Well that's no problem _beau, _I'll simply have to teach you again!" Francis absolutely beamed at the very thought.

"No Francis, I mean I don't remember anything. That is, before the American Revolution." Francis' jaw dropped, his blue eyes shining in disbelief.

"_Excusez moi_?" Arthur ignored Francis' outburst of French and decided to clarify even more so.

"I have forgotten my history and it's causing me to get older by the minute. Somewhere inside I knew you were the only one who could help me." Francis smiled one of his most charming smiles yet worry still painted his countenance.

"You could not have come to a better person my Arthur. Oh, where to begin? It is a long history- you and I. You may want to have a seat. We'll be here for a while. I'll keep talking until you get that pretty face of yours back completely." England nodded, too desperate to protest the Frenchman's flirtatiousness. Quickly, he took a seat across from Francis.

"Where should we begin?" Arthur asked uncertainly.

"How about we go backwards as it should be a little easier for you?" The shorter blond nodded in reply.

"Ok."

"Let's start with Canada and America- when we raised them." Arthur nodded. He was in for quite the story he believed.

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A.N.: Well some would say working on two multi-chap fics at once isn't smart...I say screw them, I have a short attention span and this is the only way I can write- get bored with one, go to the next. I apologize for any bad French. I believe I'll be getting a lot more skilled with the language by the end of this story. Also, this chapter is supposed to be super short- it's the PROLOUGE, lol. hope everyone enjoys it.


	2. Raising and Losing America

A.N. WOOT! SPEEDY UPDATE! (Math class was EXTRA boring today so I got to write. I love sitting in the back of the room) Ok, this is the first REAL chapter and it will contain some history. Fear not, the history does not bite. Unless you try to feed it.

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France sat up and cleared his throat. Then he began to speak.

"Us European countries discovered what we called "the New World" several hundred years ago. The nations we found there were infants, hardly could they even be called nations. They would need guidance and care if they hoped to grow. Spain focused mainly on South America. That was back when he was a conqueror. He would plunder and strip the land, killing the natives rather savagely. Antonio has changed quite a bit since then.

Unlike Antonio, we loved the New World. You and I focused mainly on the north. Tensions between us were relatively high and we would bicker over who controlled what land. I was dominant in a massive area far north which would later become Canada, some area to the west of your east coast lands, and a bit of the south. You focused all of your settlements along the east coast of what would become the Untied States.

You loved that colony with all of your heart and affectionately you named the little boy Alfred. Meanwhile, my sweet northern child had come to me and I called him Mathieu. He is now better known as Matt or Matthew. He loved Alfred and looked up to him like he was a big brother. He wanted to be exactly like Alfred. It was rather cute. You and I eventually agreed to work together and raise these children as a mother and father. I'd like to believe we owned them equally and we may have at one time. Ultimately though, Alfred was yours.

Boy, did we love those kids. We spoiled them out of their minds and taught them everything we knew. Back then we had our differences but we were still a pair. The nature of our relationship was questionable and always unpredictable. As the boys grew into fine young men they began to take notice our "relationship." Mattie asked me about it countless times and I always dismissed his questions, one after the next. Still I wonder if I should have kept so much from him, left him so painfully innocent. You were always much more straight forward with Alfred. It's no wonder he turned out so knowledgeable, not naive like his brother.

Alfred showed great potential and you saw that. You refused to let the poor boy grow up. You put so many rules and restrictions on him all in fear of losing him. My dear Canada was nothing like this. He was never the ambitious type. I doubt he'll ever fully grow up. I consider this a good thing, quite selfishly of myself. On the other hand, there was no stopping Alfred. He grew and grew rapidly all the way to adulthood.

You refused to acknowledge it so much that Alfred felt he had to prove it to you. He hurt me by being with you, laying with you.

Don't get me wrong, you were not in agreement with this at all. That is, until you realized how in love with this man you were. You were so much that you would leave your first and original lover, being myself. You went to the point where you were in denial that this had ever even been your son. I was heartbroken and furious that this brat child I once called son had practically forced himself upon you.

Can I really blame him though? I had fallen in love with you too, only long ago. You were beautiful Arthur and still are. Well, the good times for you and Alfred were rather short lived. It would all come to a dead halt soon enough. Alfred felt that he needed more freedom, independence. He wanted to be his own nation so badly that he even turned hostile towards you.

Fearful of losing him yet again, you tried to suppress his rebellion. Ignoring you, Alfred pushed on with his campaign, declaring independence and war with you. I was quite the emotional wreck myself at the time and to get back at you for leaving me, I helped Alfred defeat you. You should have won in all actuality, even with me helping the boy. But you could never land the fatal blow. You could not bring yourself to kill Alfred, no matter what. For Alfred was going to be independent or die. You let yourself, the unmatched British Empire, lose to a mere child.

I was in shock. Even though I'd helped provoke this with a rebellion inside my own country and a few suggestions, never did I foresee it ending this way. I never wanted that pain for you. After that, you were lost. You hated me and Alfred for shattering your dreams. I am deeply sorry for what I did to you, my love. It was never my intention to hurt you in this way. I curse my petty jealousy to this day.

As time went on, I did not even want anything to do with America so I gave into his demands and sold him the Louisiana Purchase. I wanted Alfred to expand, focus on is own country instead of causing you anymore sorrow. At that time, I still had my dear Matthew. He was my only comfort, my beloved child. His blond hair and small body reminded me of you so much that I could not resist a bit of innocent debauchery with my former "son" either. It is indeed shameful but I was lonely and pitiful. Those are not valid excuses and don't make what I did right but they are the only excuses I have.

Still distraught, you decided to get your revenge on me. You took my Canada away simply to punish me for my sins. You could say I deserved it but it was devastating all the same. I was totally and utterly depressed for I had lost my entire family, everyone who was precious to me. I'd lost my lover, my sons, and what joy I had left after the sorrowful hard times within my own country.

Even after all that, I continued to watch over you, attempt to be your friend although we did practically nothing but bicker. I still loved you and have never stopped in all honesty. Your feelings you can decide once you have the whole story. Since this was a particularly emotional and dark part of our lives, I think we both require at least a small break to let it sink in and give this some thought.

For now you can stay in my residence's guest bedroom. Fear not, you will only be given the finest France has to offer during your visit. My servants and I will see to that." France knelt and kissed Arthur's hand once again. He stood abruptly and left before Arthur could even reply. Indeed the English nation had a lot to think about. That night as he settled into the red silk sheets in the beautiful French estate he could not help but wonder what stories of the past tomorrow could possibly bring.

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A.N. Ok, that's that. Sorry it was so depressing and incriminating from the get go. This story will be like that or happier depending on what period in history it is. By the way, I AM going backwards through history so it will be ENDING with the beginning of England and France, if that makes any sense. Review, review, review! All of your lovely reviews make my day. :)


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